"My friends, I'd like to thank you for all the support you have shown me." Lex said with a sad smile as he addressed the large hall of assembled campaigners. "You heard my message and you rallied behind me and got me so close to being the first over the finish line. But we were beaten by a good man.

"Make no mistake, we will not suffer with Jonathan Kent as our Senator. He has heard our position and he will remember it as he takes his oath of office. I will personally be offering my support to him over the coming years and I urge you to do the same. Holding a political office is a daunting task for a man like Jonathan Kent. He will strive everyday to fight any corruption that comes his way and it will drain him. I intend to be there for him and hopefully shield him as much as I can… because he would have done the same for me.

"Hopefully he will get the chance to do so for me. This is not the end of my political career, this is simply the beginning. I will look to other openings in the political arena and I will one day take that seat in the White House. I promise you!"

The crowd cheered and Lex let them. He had been shocked that he had so many decent people supporting him. He had thought that the only people he would attract where the ones with deep pockets ready to grease his own.

Eventually the cheering died down and he continued. "I want you to celebrate tonight. Celebrate a fight well fought. Celebrate a campaign that we can be proud of. Celebrate the fact that we have proven that American democracy works and that we have a reason to once again be proud to be Americans!"


"Jonathan Kent! You get up there and give that speech right now!"

"I just can't believe I actually won." Jonathan whined at his wife.

"You were aiming to win!"

"I was secretly hoping Lex would win." He admitted. "I thought Lex was the no-brainer. I'm just a farmer."

"And now you are a Senator-"

"Kent! You've got some twenty thousand people out there waiting for you to speak. Don't make me get Dani and Kyla in here." Lois glared at her boss and future father-in-law as she stormed into the dressing room. Clark had rented out the Metropolis University Sports Stadium. The place was packed.

Jonathan stood up and set his shoulders. "Just refresh my memory, who's idea was it for me to run for Senator?"

"Jack, Clark, Lex, Harry- "

"That will do." Jonathan interrupted his wife. "At least I know who to blame in my speech."


One would think that the Kent family's life would suddenly be turned upside down by the election of their patriarch to State Senator.

But one would be wrong.

Everyday Jonathan travelled to the state capital by way of the portal doors installed by his generous son. He would return for dinner with his family and relaxing as he helped with the last chores of the day. When Lois had told him he wouldn't have time to do chores he had calmly and firmly retorted that if his son could run a multi-national company, patrol the streets of Metropolis and still have time to work the farm and spend time with his family then he could do the same.

He then told Lois that she had better find a way to make it happen as she was his new aide and if he didn't get to go home neither did she.

Lois was fairly pissed at him for that.

And secretly proud and flattered.

She liked the grumpy farmer so she would make it happen… because she liked his wife more and she deserved it.

Martha was very glad they had all the Amazons and extra help around the farm as she realised she would suddenly be very lonely without her husband around.

Lex was very smug and took great pleasure in being hard at work on the farm when Jonathan returned home.

Lex suddenly found himself appointed as Jonathan's personal advisor with a view to having him run for office to replace him.

If Jonathan was going to be unhappy he would 'share the wealth'… so to speak.

Everyone else managed to avoid his 'sharing' and returned to work, school or college.


Chloe and Clark were on a mission.

There was a new hero in Metropolis who had been taking the fight straight to the gangs. The Amazons and Sekirei would arrive on scene only to find that the gang members were actually the victims.

Chloe had been tracking the reports that didn't coincide with what she new her sisters were involved with.

"There haven't been any eye witnesses as the gang-members are usually left unconscious at best." Chloe sighed as she and Clark sifted through the files and research she had gathered in her office.

Chloe was often treated as a bit of a pariah at the Daily Planet. Sure she had delivered some of the biggest headlines of the decade, but the other reporters still felt that she had jumped the queue and suspected that palms had been greased.

Pauline didn't care and had assigned Chloe as a special reporter who would work on whatever stories she found. Occasionally she would throw the young girl a story no one was working on if she had no stories at hand… like the case of the exploding fire hydrants.

Chloe had written it up as a mystery piece and it had been published quite successfully on the paper's website. Whenever there was a story they couldn't exactly write the truth about (i.e. ones involving Amazons and Sekirei), Pauline would have Chloe write it as a mystery.

"I have the girls monitoring the major gangs quite closely as always." Clark told her. "But this new person is going after lower level street gangs. They are vicious killers but they don't have anywhere near the presence that the major players do."

"And that makes them harder to track down." Chloe nodded with a disgusted groan. She did her best to supply her sisters and Clark with the intel they needed but often all they could do was destroy the current base they were using. They couldn't just go in a capture them as people would notice they were missing. It was one of the reasons this new vigilante stood out: They left a trail of bodies.

The door to the office opened without warning. "Mr. Kent, I'd heard a rumour you were in the building." Pauline frowned. "Should I be preparing space on the front page?" She asked Chloe pointedly.

Chloe shook her head disappointedly. "No, I have a feeling this will be another mystery story."

Pauline brightened considerably at that. "Care to share?"

"There is a mysterious vigilante that is leaving a trail of 'severely reprimanded' gang members in the city."

"'Severely reprimanded'?" Pauline laughed. "God forbid you ever decide to quit reporting you'd make an excellent lawyer or politician."

They were interrupted by a young intern of Hispanic descent who was wearing thick-rimmed glasses and had her hair pulled back in a pony-tail. "Oh, he-hello Miss Khan, Chl- M-M-Mr. Kent!" She exclaimed as she recognised the billionaire in the room.

"Hey Andrea you obviously recognise Clark Kent. Clark, meet Andrea Rojas, she's one of the interns here." Chloe smiled at the timid young woman.

"Miss Rojas, a pleasure to meet you." Clark smiled as he shook her hand.

Unfortunately the woman couldn't figure out how to transfer the papers she was holding to one hand and she sent the pile to the floor as she tried to shake Clark's hand.

"Here let me get that." Clark offered as he knelt down quickly.

"Ow!" Andrea exclaimed as she knelt down as well and their heads collided. "I'm so sorry!" She said frantically as she rubbed her head.

"Andrea! Relax!" Chloe ordered sharply.

Andrea seemed to come to attention.

"Now, either take a seat and catch your breath or go and carry on with whatever other tasks you need to do."

"Are you sure-"

"You heard Miss Sullivan." Pauline said sternly.

"Yes Miss Khan." She said quickly before she dashed from the room.

Pauline calmly closed the door behind the panicky young woman.

"She's a fairly good actor." Clark stifle a laugh.

"Actor?" Chloe asked.

"Whilst you can sniff out a good story, Miss Sullivan, you still need a lot more experience before you can pick out when someone is acting." Pauline said reassuringly. "Miss Rojas was nowhere near as anxious and frightened as she made out to be."

"And she was purposefully acting clumsy." Clark added. Chloe looked at him curiously so he explained. "Aside from the fact that I had to deal with Ashikabi's and criminals who were worse than scum and trying to trick me, I could hear her heartbeat and it only rose slightly when she recognised me.

"Also, when you move at super speed you tend to notice when people purposefully use their thumbs to push the papers out of their hands or when they hesitate before committing to an act like smashing their head against someone else's."

"Do we confront her?" Chloe asked.

"What would my first response have been five years ago if you confronted me about my work in Smallville?" Clark asked.

Chloe sighed. "That you own beach front property on a river in Egypt."


"Senator Donaldson, a pleasure to meet you." Jonathan put on his best smile as he shook the old, thin man's hand.

"Likewise Senator Kent, Likewise." He said with his own beaming smile.

"Before we begin, I need to inform you that all my meetings are recorded for security and safety. As you know my family has been the subject of assassination attempts and my security detail insists on every precaution." Jonathan informed the man as he indicated Anna who was standing next to him looking very imposing in a suit.

Donaldson visibly paled but managed to keep his smile in place. "Recordings? That seems a tad… disingenuous."

"Personally I have no problem with recording my meetings." Jonathan said easily as he indicated for his visitor to take a seat on the couch as he sat on the armchair opposite. Lex had personally thrown out the original layout of Jonathan's office and redesigned it to put his new boss in the position of power.

"What about if you need to discuss things of a… sensitive nature?"

"I inform everyone I meet with that what happens in this room is recorded. Even if I am alone it is recorded. Unless there is a crime involved these recordings will never see the light of day. My security people have been heavily vetted.

"Anna here is a good friend of mine who I will vouch for when it comes to keeping sensitive information quiet."

"I see…" The man trailed off thoughtfully for a moment before his eyes snapped and the smile returned. "Well, I just wanted to welcome you and congratulate you."

The handshakes were exchanged and Jonathan flopped onto the couch as Anna took a seat in his vacated armchair.

"How many crooks have we managed to run off now?" Jonathan asked wearily.

"That would be the third of the day. In total he is the fifteenth." Anna said as she mentally recalled the past week.

"At this rate I am going to beg Bruce Wayne to run for his state's seat just so I have someone decent to talk to in the hearings."


Andre Donavan was terrified.

This was a change in roles for him as he was often the one doing the terrifying.

He had done it all, murder, rape, theft, assault… he was an enforcer for the Suicide Slums Soldiers. Some people called him the enforcer.

But today that was all changing. All around him were the bodies of his fellow gang-members. Beaten and broken as this crazy bitch ploughed through them.

Andre was desperately trying to block the bitch's punches but she was too strong and had already broken his right arm. He just needed to get away.

There was a horrifying crack and then he screamed.

He'd been so focused on the woman's fists he had ignored her feet, now his left tibia was snapped in two. He stared into those cold hard eyes as the woman's fist reared back and then he squeezed his eyes shut and knew no more.


Andrea looked up angrily at the famous super hero who was holding her fist firmly in his grip, preventing her from breaking more of the bones belonging to the bastard on the floor.

"That is enough." Superman said calmly.

"This is not your concern. Leave now." She snarled.

"You are causing to much chaos. You are taking punishment into your own hands. That makes this my concern." He said calmly.

"Don't get all high and mighty with me! At least I do something about the filth, what do you do? Fly above the city like you are better than us?"

"I save lives. I protect the innocent. I do everything you do… only nobody realises I do it."

"Liar!" She shouted. "If that were true then my mother woul-"

"Still be dead. She was targeted by Lionel Luthor." Superman interrupted.

Andrea's face was a picture of shock.

"Yes, I know who you are. I know why you do this and I know how you got your powers from your Kryptonite infected heart transplant."

"So what? Blackmail? You're just a crook like all of these?"

"Superman, I'll take it from here."

Andrea spun around in time to see a figure draped in black melt from the shadows. "Batman!"

"If the only reason you fight is to get revenge on these crooks then we are going to have a problem." The Batman told her calmly in his gravelly voice.

"I am working to avenge my mother. What would you know about it anyway? With all your fancy gadgets?" She sneered.

"I do what I do so that no child has to suffer the murder of their parents in front of them like I did." Batman was suddenly in her face and very angry. "I had my chance to avenge my parents and instead I decided to become better. To become a guardian of my home."

"Then how are we any different?" She challenged.

"Because I don't take justice into my own hands. I capture the criminals and give the evidence to the cops. You beat them into a bloody pulp and leave the cops no choice but to treat them as victims and release them."

"It's what they deserve!"

"Not your decision!"

"You expect me to leave it to the cops? Those bastards are a scared bunch of babies!"

"They are brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day!" Superman said heatedly. "And they do it without powers like yours. They also do it in broad daylight and allow themselves to be held accountable by the public.

"What do you do? Slink around the city making life harder for them. You take pleasure in inflicting pain. How long will it be before hurting criminals isn't enough and you decide to use your powers to get your way in other areas of your life?" He challenged.

"You have a choice Andrea." Batman said firmly. "Either you stop your little crusade or you change your methods and learn to work with others."

"And if I refuse?" She sneered.

"We remove your powers and possibly your memories of having them. Of course he might decide to just imprison you." He nodded at Superman.

"I can make it happen through the courts."

All three turned as a new party joined them. "Sullivan?" Andrea said in shock.

"All those mystery stories I write… I know the answers. So does Pauline. Quite a few of them have been about you and your less than humane actions. I also have the evidence. Batman and Superman have no problem with you fighting crime. They just want to make sure you are either more discreet about it or that you start working with the cops."

"What gives you lot the right to tell me how to do things?"

"Laws older than this universe." Chloe answered for them. "If you change your ways you can learn more. If you don't… well we already told you about that.

"Oh, and one last thing…" Chloe said with a dangerous smile. "Don't ever assume you are the only one taking out the truly evil people. The only reason you don't hear about it is because we are just that good." She raised her hand and clicked her fingers.

Andrea was shocked as the small area outside the garage was packed with women dressed in black. Whilst most held a Grecian style sword there were a select few who were holding a Japanese Katana.

A Japanese woman with pale purple hair moved forward. Like the others with a Katana she wore an indecently short black dress in a Japanese style.

"We will be watching you Andrea." She said warningly. "Do not give us reason to do more than watch."

Andrea didn't get a chance to respond as the women all vanished as Chloe clicked her fingers again.

"For the record… that woman was probably the most dangerous female on the planet." Chloe said before she clicked her fingers one last time and vanished herself.

"She's also my sister-in-law." Superman added calmly. "Remember Miss Rojas… we'll be watching. Talk to Chloe when you've made up your mind."

She watched as Superman shot into the air as little more than a blur. When he had vanished she turned around to see the Batman was already gone.


It had to be the most exciting day of their lives.

Bruce Wayne, Harry Potter, Clark Kent and Lex Luthor walked calmly and quietly through the corridor of the LuthorCorp secret labs. Around them scientists looked up from their experiments as they watched the powerhouses of the business world pass by.

What was interesting was the department they stopped at: Advanced Imaging.

LuthorCorp had cleaned up its act quite well. Sure they worked on the occasional weapon if that was were the current experiment was leading but they did so openly with the input of the other major companies.

"Gentlemen, meet Dr. Senedirah and his team." Lex introduced the lead scientist, a man of Indian descent with greying black hair a full beard and wire-rimmed glasses.

"They have been working on various methods of scanning and imaging that we could use on everything from medicine to space travel. They have created some astounding feats that puts them near the top of my list for the next LuthorCorp Expo." He smiled proudly. He was pleased to see the shoulders of the scientists straighten a little too. They were all good men and women and deserved credit for what they had done.

"Then I will be eagerly awaiting my invitation." Harry grinned cheekily. "So how can we help you? I'm not an expert on imaging technology and as far as I know neither are Bruce or Clark."

"Doctor?" Lex offered the lead to older scientist.

"Of course Mr. Luthor." The man said calmly. "The best use of our imaging technology has been to map the bed of the river and Reeves Dam that runs above us. I had to request we be moved here due to some rather embarrassing incidents with a new form of x-ray scanning." He said bemused smile.

"You two should swap stories." Harry grinned at Clark who just glared at him.

"Please continue Doctor." Bruce prompted the man before they could query Harry's jab.

"Erm… of course." He turned to a computer and an image appeared on the screen. "We initially thought we had made some serious mistakes with the programming when this object appeared on the scanners."

On the screen was a very familiar, large, pentacle shaped ship submerged in water and rock. The only reason Clark and Bruce hadn't gone on full alert was because this ship was deep red.

"Do these scientists have your trust, Lex?" Harry asked as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"If I didn't I would have called in Jean." Lex said seriously.

Harry turned to Bruce and Clark. "The decision is firmly in your hands, gentlemen." He said, implicitly implying that the scientists where trustworthy.

Clark gave Bruce a small nod.

Bruce had a curious smile. "Because of your own senses or implicit trust of Harry?"

Clark gave him a very dry look. "I never trust Harry. He always does things for his own amusement. But yes." He sighed. "I do agree because of Harry."

"Can you just feel the love I get from my baby brother?" Harry asked the scientists sarcastically.

"We can devolve into a family squabble later." Lex said slightly impatiently. "These good scientists and myself have been waiting eagerly to find out more about this ship. Personally I've been sweating bullets worrying about another Brainiac."

"I wouldn't worry about that, that is a Kryptonian ship. Brainiac just stowed away on one." Clark assured him. "By the way, I am Superman." He said as he willed his battle suit on.

"And I am Batman." Bruce added as he activated his watch and suit.

"Oh. My. God!"

Harry and Superman chuckled at the now embarrassed young male scientist in the back.

"You realise you are never going to live that down, right?" Harry asked him.

The man just buried his face in his hands.

"Alright, so that is a Kryptonian ship." Lex frowned as he examined the screen. "In some ways it makes sense considering it is the shape of your House Crest." He pointed to the large 'S' in a pentacle on Superman's chest.

"We should call in Kilowog." Superman suggested. "The Green Lanterns are where I learnt the most about Krypton. They are also working on the City of Kandor."

"Harry, Kal, Bruce, Lex…. And you guys." Kilowog said in greeting as he appeared.

"Thanks for coming Big Guy." Harry greeted him.

"You know Kal, if Krypton were still around, the Corp would be doing some serious investigating into their meddling in other planets." Kilowog frowned as he noticed the ship on the screen. "Where did you find this one?"

"At the bottom of the Reeves Dam." Lex answered.

"We're in Smallville?" He asked in surprise.

"Near enough." Clark nodded.

"Well how long has it been down there? Your girls monitor the airspace around Smallville like hawks!" The large alien snorted. "They would notice a ship coming down… there is no way they would miss it crashing."

"Excuse me, but if I might offer some more input?" Dr. Senedirah spoke up.

"Please, go ahead Doctor." Lex allowed the older man.

"Our sensors where able to extrapolate a tentative date of around twenty years, give or take a year or so. Although we must point out that these sensors are as experimental as the imaging technology."

"Well I say we get that ship up and see if the good Doctor is right!" Harry clapped his hands happily.

Superman turned to Kilowog. "Could you retrieve the ship with your ring? I would rather not risk it myself as so far everything Kryptonian but my battle suit has tried to harm me."

Kilowog chuckled as he walked over to the scientists to get more accurate information on the ship's location.


"Are you guys sure Lex won't mind?" Jason asked his companions as Lorna led them into the house.

"Lex will want this item found as much as we do." Virgil assured him. "All I know is that Lionel had it. The spell Lorna taught me is leading us here."

"Don't worry, Lex knows we are here and that it is important. I already contacted him." Lorna assured the young Coach.

"What about the housekeepers?" Jason asked as Virgil led them to Lex's office.

"We are invisible, phased and silenced." Virgil said distractedly. "This is important enough that we don't want anyone to know we were even here."

They eventually stopped when Virgil came up to the fireplace.

"Do we have a spell for seeing into things?" Virgil asked Lorna.

"I could stick my hand in there and feel around… not all that smart though. You end up with whatever you are phased through being stuck in your arm." She said with a grimace.

"Hold on a sec." Jason said as he activated his War Machine armour. "Yep, I see it. There is some sort of compartment built into the mantle. I could break it out… oh, hold on…" There were a few moments of waiting before Jason held his hand out palm facing up and a glow appeared on his armoured gauntlet.

It then sputtered and died.

"Ah… something interfered with the suit's built in transporter. I have really got to do some more investigating." Jason grumbled as he lowered his hand.

"Alright." Lorna sighed. "I'll throw up some temporary wards whilst you rip out the mantelpiece."


"I can't see inside but I can only sense one soul. Harry?" Clark turned to his older brother as they stood in front of the ship.

They had relocated the ship and the scientists to Harry's home world and the base situated there.

"Three souls.

"First: Female. Young. Late teens. In some form of suspended animation." Harry frowned as he examined the ship.

"Second: Female. Thirties… in a form of stasis that looks really familiar and makes me very angry.

"Third: Male. Thirties. Same as the second soul."

"Vision?" Clark opened the floor to the lead AI on site.

"No discernable intelligence beyond a simple management system for the ships functions." He reported. "It automatically began to open when it arrived here. We are currently suppressing its functions until you are ready."

Lex turned to Dr. Senedirah and his team. "It would be best if you waited upstairs in the control room."

The Doctor frowned when it appeared his boss would be staying behind.

"I have my own protections." Lex smiled as he activated the Iron Man armour.

The wide eyes of the scientists made Lex laugh. Harry waved a hand sending them up to the control room.

"When you're ready Vision." Clark instructed.

"Suit up Clark." Bruce added quickly as The Vision began to work. "Your battle suit is part of the nobility like your house. They might respect you more if they see you in it."

Clark nodded and was instantly garbed in his costume.

The ship hissed as it began to open and the pressure equalised.

"One last thing." Harry said as though it were completely unimportant. "Whoever it is is related to Clark."

Superman glowered though he never took his eyes off the ship. "When we are done here I am taking Aphrodite out to buy a pair of steel-toed boots… and then I am going to infuse them with my lightning."

Harry actually paled.

The top of the ship melted away and Harry levitated them above it so they could see inside.

Lying there, asleep, was a young blonde girl. She was extremely beautiful and dressed in a very gauzy, white, almost see-through, material.

In short: She looked like an angel.

"What relation is she to me?" Clark asked.

"Hmm… based on shared genetics… cousin. On your father's side."

"Where are the other two occupants?" Bruce asked.

Harry floated down next to the girl. "They are in this comYEURK!" Harry gasped awkwardly as the blonde girl's had shot and grabbed him round the throat.

"Do not touch my ship, human." She practically spat the word 'human'.

"Need a hand Harry?" Superman asked in amusement.

"Kid's gonna break his neck." Kilowog grimaced.

"Already has." Superman muttered.

"Kal-El, maybe you should do something?" Bruce suggested.

Superman flew down and gripped the wrist of the girl and pried the fingers from around Harry's throat. "Stand down." He ordered the girl.

She suddenly noticed the suit Superman was wearing and the next thing he knew he was picking himself up out of the rubble of the wall.

"How dare you wear the crest of my family!" The blonde accused angrily as she charged at Superman in full flight.

"Superman was ready though and caught her in mid-flight and ploughed her into the concrete floor creating a dent.

"I knew he should have been able to fly from a young age!" Harry said triumphantly as he rejoined Bruce, The Vision and Kilowog.

"I am Kal-El of the House of El. I do not know who you are, only that you are my cousin." Superman growled at her as he held her face down whilst he twisted her arm behind her. "You will stand down and show some manners and civility or I will have you chained to the walls and your abilities stripped."

"You lie! Kal-El is baby!" The girl shouted angrily from her position on the floor.

"Yes. And then I grew up!" Superman was fairly pissed about being blindsided by her attack. He could forgive a little though as she did just wake up and was fairly young.

"You have been in stasis for nearly twenty years." The Vision explained as he knelt beside her so she could see him. "Nobody knew you were trapped at the bottom of a river until mere days ago. In the years that have passed your cousin has grown into an amazing man who is respected, not just on Earth, but throughout multiple universes."

"In the time you have been asleep we have dealt with Brainiac, Disciples of Zod, the Crystals of Knowledge and many more." Bruce added as he joined The Vision. He then knelt down and asked her quietly: "If we wanted to harm you, we would never have woken you."

This little bit of logic seemed to get through to her and she relaxed a bit in Superman's grip.

Bruce gave him and nod and Superman gently released her.

*BOOM*

The next thing they knew there was a large dent in the metal ceiling as the girl fell to the ground unconscious. Apparently Bruce wasn't as effective as they thought and she had tried to escape.

"Gentlemen, might I suggest you ask a female to interact with her next time? You are all very imposing."

At Dr. Senedirah's suggestion from the control room they all looked at each other. Bruce was in his usual suit and tie, Superman was in his armour, Lex was in his own armour and Harry… had a long history of pissing people off.


"You are seriously telling me that this thing was in Lex's fireplace?" Harry asked Virgil incredulously.

"It makes perfect sense as Lionel would have wanted the Orb kept close to hand." Virgil frowned, not understanding Harry's annoyance.

"I think Harry is more worried about the fact that he couldn't sense it." Clark said with a wince.

"It's not like he knew to look for it though, right?" Jason queried.

"Jason… this thing is filled with a lot of souls." Clark explained. "Harry is just worried about the fact he couldn't see it."

"You've both been in my house enough times." Lex agreed.

"Well… it didn't activate until we pulled it out of the fireplace." Jason offered. "According to my suits sensors, it was… off before that."

"Then maybe it is just a quirk of Kryptonian technology." Lorna offered.

"That doesn't explain this:" Harry said as held up a long deep blue crystal, much like the ones from the Fortress.

"That crystal has two souls in it." Clark frowned. "One of them seems to be my mother… the other my uncle."

"Wow… just one big ol' family reunion." Dani muttered sarcastically.

"Do you have a plan?" Brunhilde asked.

"Make it quick because that orb is talking to me." Tess scowled. "I don't care who is in there but no one tells me to mess with my god."

"What does it want you to do with Clark?" Laura asked.

"Something about fulfilling a prophecy, a black kryptonite crystal and Doomsday." She said with a flinch. "Seriously, can someone please shut that thing up?"

"I'll go and stick it in a safe back in the lab." Harry nodded.

"What about the blue crystal?" Clark asked.

"If you want to open it that's your choice." Harry said firmly. "But I just recommend controlled laboratory circumstances."

There was a snort from the two Native Americans. "Hypocrite." Kyla muttered.

"Hey!"

"Hush Husband." Brunhilde chided as she stood up and joined Harry. "You have been quite reckless since we arrived in this universe and you know it."

Harry looked at the rest of his wives for support… all he got were nods.

"Et tu Diana!?"

"Brunhilde and Laura have taught me much about laboratory work. Bruce, Amara and Clark have taught me how to be methodical in the field… you are very reckless."

"Fine Miss I-Like-To-Crash-Into-Magical-Shields." He pouted as he teleported out with Brunhilde.

"I do not understand." Miya frowned. "I often watched him work in his lab at MBI. I was frequently the subject of his tests. He was always very professional."

"He probably didn't think of it as a lab but more of a hospital or clinic." Helen explained. "If there is one thing I have learnt about Harry is that he takes medicine very seriously."

"That said…" Dani grinned as she stood up and bounced happily over to Miya. "Time to share more crazy memories of Harry doing crazy things!" She declared as she teleported out.

"That still leaves the question of what to do with this." Clark sighed as he put the blue crystal on the coffee table.

"I believe this should be a decision made with the input of all of your family, Kal." Aphrodite said softly.

"Maybe we should interrogate your cuz a bit too." Kyla scowled. She wasn't happy to learn that someone had struck her husband without provocation.


The young blonde female was instantly alert as she regained consciousness. She sat up and found herself sitting on a bed in a room with a lot of other beds.

"Please don't try and smash through anymore walls. One concussion a day is one too many." Came a female voice.

She turned to her left to see a redhead about her own age standing there.

"Hi, I'm Jean Grey. I'm your current physician." The girl smiled. "Now then, we need to have a long talk about your current situation."

"I have nothing to tell you." The girl said defiantly.

"Kara," The girl was suddenly very worried. "we already know everything we need to about you. We know your age, your name, why you came to Earth, how you came to Earth…" Jean paused and looked at her seriously. "We also know things that you need to know. Like where Kal-El is. Just how dangerous Earth is-"

"I have been to Earth before." Kara said arrogantly. "Humans are no match for a Kryptonian."

"Your average human? No. But Earth is under the protection of various beings of much greater power than a Kryptonian. The Green Lanterns to name but one."

Kara growled at the mention of the Inter-Galactic Peacekeepers.

Jean ignored it. "Now, are you going to behave yourself and listen or do we need to take more drastic measures, like removing those enhanced powers of yours?"

There was a hint of fear in Kara's eyes before it was suppressed and the arrogant sneer was back. "Humans don't have the technology."

Jean reached over to the instrument table she had brought with her and picked up a small black box. She opened it and showed it Kara who immediately gasped in pain.

"We call this 'Kryptonite'. It is a piece of your home planet. Here on Earth it strips you of your powers and makes you weaker than a human child… and as you can tell… causes you a lot of pain."

Kara was sweating now and looking fearfully at her hands where she could see and feel the blood curdling in her veins.

Jean snapped the box shut and Kara instantly felt better. "A led lined box like this one will protect you from the effects of Kryptonite. If you encounter the stuff then make sure to call one of us so we can come and clear it up. Even your cousin knows better than to mess with it himself."

Kara's eyes snapped to Jean's. "What do you know about my cousin?"

"I know that you punched him in the face earlier." Jean laughed. She sighed at the look of scepticism on Kara's face. "You arrived in the same meteor shower as Kal-El. The differences are that Kal was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, a loving couple who were nearly killed when he crashed and practically destroyed their transport vehicle.

"You, on the other hand, landed in a deep river and became lodged in the bed. It was only recent experiments on newer types of scanning that were performed nearby that revealed your existence.

"You've been asleep for nearly eighteen years.

"In that time your baby cousin has grown into a powerful yet caring young man.

"Now, what you need to realise is that Kal is very wary of his birth family." Kara looked at Jean with a curious frown. "The ship he arrived in had an AI based on his father. It tried to make him do things he didn't agree with. It then threatened his friends, his family and himself."

"Uncle Jor-El would never do that!" Kara objected. "I-I wasn't supposed to know this-" She admitted hesitantly. "-Aunt Lara and Uncle Jor had planned for Kal to be sent to the Human Kent family if something happened to Krypton. Aunt Lara said that Uncle Joe had a lot of respect for a man named Hiram Kent."

"Kal's adopted grandfather." Jean nodded. "Your opinion will go a long way to easing Kal's worries. In his life time he has only met two other Kryptonians and they were Disciples of Zod."

Kara's eyes widened worriedly. "Is Kal ok? Have they been dealt with?"

"It was all sorted some time ago." Jean assured her. "Quite frankly we are more concerned about the blue crystal you had in your ship."

Kara now had the look of someone caught red handed.

"We don't know much about it, but what we do know is that it contains the souls of Kal's mother and your father. It has all that is needed to bring them back to life."

Kara was clearly surprised at that. "My father… Zor-El, he said that Krypton wouldn't be gone, that it could be restored. Maybe this is what he meant."

"Yes, well," Jean said slowly, "your father has a soul that is sickening. Your Aunt is about as pure as they come. For now Kal is discussing what to do with the crystal and the souls. If you can refrain from hitting him or running off then perhaps you would like to join the discussion?"


It was another large group that was assembled at the meeting table in the Great Hall. The Castle Residents, the Kents and the superheroes.

As Kara and Jean walked in Kara tensed at the sight of the blue crystal sitting in front of the man claiming to be Kal-El.

"This discussion, whilst philosophically entertaining, is ultimately pointless." Batman stated in his gravelly voice. "Both Harry and Superman have stated that the soul of Superman's uncle is tainted. We need to revive him to discover what he did to get that way."

"Plus I can't see Ol' Death letting a good soul like Mrs El rot away in that thing." The Flash quipped.

"She's coming out one way or another." Harry nodded. "But I don't have to bring them both out."

"I agree with Batman." John Stewart added his voice. "Aside from your moral leanings about rescuing the soul of Lara-El, we cannot leave the question of Zor-El's crimes unanswered."

"If you intended to put it to a vote then I vote with Stewart and Batman." Hawkgirl said firmly. It was actually a little more than firm… it was the type of firm that made The Flash wince.

"My father would never hurt anyone!" Kara said heatedly, drawing the attention of the assembled.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Harry responded calmly.

"Harry! She doesn't need her first impressions of us to be ones denigrating her family." Martha scolded. "I vote to revive them. Kara is alone on this planet and at the very least she should be given the chance to see her family."

"Votes over. Mrs K has spoken." The Flash grinned. "Ow!"

"You will show some respect!" Miya was standing behind the red speedster with her ladle in hand. Like all the Sekirei she was very protective of Kent elders. They were the parents of their saviour.

"Sorry Miya." He said contritely.

Kara was shocked as she hadn't even seen the purple haired woman move. She was beginning to realise that she was in a room filled with people who could probably beat the snot out of her.

"Harry, take Kara, Clark and Jean and revive Lara." Martha ordered sternly. "Then take Diana and Chloe and have a chat with Zor."

"Yes Ma'am." Harry smirked as he stood up and left with the others. Jean guided Kara out behind them.

"Sweetheart… explain to me again why you didn't run for Senator?" Jonathan queried.


"Aunt Lara!"

"Kara?"

Clark and Jean watched with small smiles as they watched the reunion in the infirmary. Harry had already left with the others to deal with Zor-El in the dungeons.

"What happened? The last thing I remember was Krypton falling apart around us." Lara said, the memories making her experience the panic that to her, was mere moments before.

"Father did something. He stored your essence in a crystal with his. It was in my ship." Kara took a steadying breath. "Krypton is gone, Aunt Lara." She said sadly. "They say it has been eighteen years. We are on Earth now."

Lara's eyes widened. It was quickly replaced with a steely resolve. "Kal… did he make it? Is my son alive?"

"Standing right here." Clark gave a small wave from where he and Jean were leaning against a bed behind Kara. Both were now in civilian garb. After Kara's reaction to his battle suit (which Bruce was fairly embarrassed about) he decided for a more casual approach.

Lara unconsciously led Kara over to the tall dark-haired, blue-eyed man. Her eyes were wide with wonder. "Kal?"

"Although I do use that name occasionally, my family and friends call me Clark, Clark Kent."

Lara's eyes lit up with joy. "The Kent family found you? Praise Rao!" She said happily as she grabbed Clark in a hug.

Clark just stood there fairly awkwardly. Until Jean slapped the back of his head with a glare and he put his arms around his birth mother.

"Aunty! How can we be sure this is Kal?" Kara argued.

Lara rested her head on Clark's chest contentedly. "I will always know my son." She said firmly.

"Just remember that although you can recognise him you still have to get to know him." Jean finally spoke up.

"The Kents, they are still alive?" Lara asked as she stepped back from her son.

"Alive, healthy, and happy." Jean nodded.

Clark snorted. "Try telling that to Dad."

Jonathan Kent consistently complained about being Senator. Dani and Kyla had taken to conjuring water bottles and spraying him in the face when he did. They had tried to get Miya to break out her ladle but the goddess was horrified at the thought of harming the parents of her co-god and saviour. It would have been akin to striking her father-in-law!

Lara gave an amused yet curious smile. "Can I speak with them? I know a little about them, but they will be able to tell me more about my son and who he has become."


Lara was in seventh heaven.

Forget the fact that Jonathan and Martha Kent had been all she could have wanted for her son, there was something even more important for her.

"I am going to have so many grand children!" She squealed as she saw the group of women that had been introduced as Clark's wives.

"Sekirei can't actually have children." Martha whispered carefully.

The look of horror on Lara's face was devastating. "That's terrible! Surely you have some technology that can help them?"

"We are not ill or deformed!" Tsukiumi said hotly. "This is just the nature of Sekirei."

"How do you… make more of you then?" Kara asked uncomfortably.

"We have never needed more." Tsukiumi honestly couldn't understand the need to reproduce. It wasn't the same with all the Sekirei but they generally accepted what they were.

"When a Sekirei dies their essence returns to a… well, me I guess." Harry explained as he walked up with Diana. "I then re-create their body and they are reborn. It didn't always used to be that way, there used to be more technology involved but your son destroyed it." He said dryly.

"Because you allowed yourself to be trapped by a mad man." Diana reminded him with an amused smile.

"Pfft… semantics."

"Lara, this is Harry Potter and Princess Diana. Harry has adopted your son as his brother."

"Our son." Lara corrected Martha firmly. "I am proud of what he has achieved, but he clearly owes a lot to those that raised him whilst I could not."

Kara was still highly conflicted. She trusted her aunt more than anyone, including her own father, but it was still fairly hard to reconcile Clark Kent with the baby Kal-El she had held in her arms not a day ago.

"There is something we need to discuss and unfortunately it will not be pleasant for you."

Kara was surprised when Harry spoke directly to her. "Me?"

"We revived and interrogated your father." Diana said, anger brewing behind her eyes. "He admitted to wiping your memories."

"Apparently he was in league with Zod who was working with Brainiac who was working solely for himself." Harry explained.

"My father would never work with those bastards!"

"There is an easy way to find out." Harry shrugged. "Just let us restore your memories."

"Or she could ask her father herself." Diana countered. "Both my lasso and veritiserum work on Kryptonians."


It took both Lara and Diana to pull the enraged and distressed Kara off her father. She was in tears at the revelation of what he had done to her and how he had betrayed Krypton to Zod of all people.

"He deserves to go to the Phantom Zone." She spat angrily at the cell where her father suddenly paled.

Lara sucked in a sharp breath. "Kara, that is a horrible place. He is still your father."

"I have no father. All I have is you." She said defiantly.

Lara couldn't help but be touched by Kara's words and pulled her niece into a tight hug.

"What is the Phantom Zone?" Harry asked from beside Jean and Diana who were loathe to interrupt. Jean had turned the face of Zor-El's cell opaque so he wouldn't distress Kara anymore.

"It is a prison dimension created by my husband." Lara explained over Kara's shoulder as she held the crying girl. "All powers are stripped and the worst are sent in without their bodies."

"Without their bodies? Just their souls?" Jean asked with wide eyes.

"I am not as well versed in souls as my Harry but it sounds to me like Krypton was meddling in things it shouldn't have been." Diana frowned.

"Does Zor know about the Phantom Zone?" Harry asked all business.

"He was an accomplished scientist himself and often consulted on projects with his brother."

Harry turned to Jean. "Get the Cuckoos and Emma and strip his mind."

"Have Ryan try first." Diana corrected. "This will be another useful test for him."

Harry just nodded.


Mercy Graves was struggling to match the strength of the woman in front of her. She had been escorting her boss, Lex Luthor, to his car when the woman had dropped from the ceiling between to beams and tried to attack him.

"Andrea Rojas, stand down or Superman and Batman will not be pleased." Lex snapped.

Andrea was shocked that he knew her as she was wearing her mask… and they had never interacted. She quickly put a foot on Mercy's knee to push away but Mercy was far more skilled and more highly trained.

Mercy quickly raised her knee and moved inwards removing Andrea's chance at leverage. Andrea was caught off balance and quickly put on the floor face down and restrained with Mercy's knee on her spine.

"I knew those heroes couldn't be trusted!" She sneered from under Mercy's knee. "How long have you had them Luthor?"

"Those heroes are my friends Andrea. Nothing more. Now why did you attack me? I really hope you weren't after revenge on my father by going after me." He asked as he knelt down next to her just outside of arm's reach.

"Why not? You are just as bad as your father. You were party to all his evil works."

"No… that was a clone." Lex sighed.

Andrea laughed scoffingly. "That's the excuse you are going to use?"

"Its unfortunately the truth. The only fortunate thing is that my friends, Superman and Batman, instantly knew I had been replaced. They were able to protect my fiancé and sister from him and warn them. The clone has been gone since just before my father died in prison. I have spent most of my time playing the bad guy whilst trying to turn the company around."

"Aw, that's such a touching story." She said mockingly.

Lex sighed. "Mercy, I'm thinking she needs to see the truth, what do you think?"

"Can't hurt to ask. The girl could be far more than just a vessel of revenge." Mercy nodded.

"Miss Rojas, I'm going to show you a whole new world. A glimpse of what this world could really be like if you were to give up this pointless quest for revenge." As Lex spoke his armour began to cover him and Andrea began to worry.